Bailer spear



Patented Mar. 4, 1930 iff/'495386 PATENT OFFICE FRANK J'. HINDERLITER, OF TULSA, OKLAHOMA BAILER SPEAR Application filed October 19, 1927. Serial No. 227,200.

The present invention relates in general to apparatus for removing broken mechanism from wells, and more particularly to a spear for removing a bailer from an oil well casing.

t An object ot the present invention is to provide a spear shaped'to accommodate the broken bails of a bailer tube and provided with wedging slips adapted to embrace the inner surface of the bail tube whereby the bailer may be removed from the well casing.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a -spear including an outerv guide tube adapted to embrace the outer wall of the bailer tube and a plurality of oppositely :15,7 disposed slips adapted to be wedged into engagement with the inner surface` of the bailer tube by an upward movement of the spear.

vA further object ot the invention is the provision of av spear having an outer guide l tube adapted to iit over a boiler tube and having its lower end cut on a slant to provide the guide tube ywith an eccentric Ypoint whereby the fitting of the guide tube over the bailer tube will be facilitated.

" A still further object of the invention resides in the provision of aspear including a guide tube adapted to iit over the bailer tube to prevent distortion of the bailer tube by the slips of the spear engaging the inner surface T of thebai'ler tube.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will more fully appear from the following detailed description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawing,'which ily lustrates a single embodiment thereof and in which: o Y i v y t Figure'l is a fragmentary vertical sectional view through a well casing showing a o b roke-n bailerin elevation in the lower part Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on substantially the line III-HI of Figure 2 looking downwardly;

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional View taken on substantially the line IV-IV of Figure 2 looking downwardly, and

Figure 5 is an elevation of my spear drawn to a reduced scale.

In the drawings:

Like reference characters designate similar parts throughout the several views.

The reference character 11 designates generally a well casing having disposed in its lower part a broken bailer 12 which is to be removed by a spear from the casing. In the upperpart ot the casing shown in Figure 1 is disposed a spear designated generally by the reference character 15 embodying the teatures of the present invention.

The bailer 12 is of conventional construction and includes a tube 13 and broken bails r 14 formed integral with the upper end of the bailer tube 13. The upper and broken ends of these bails 14 are bent in opposite directions and toward each other, as shown in Figure 1.A Now itwill, of course, be evident that in order to remove the bailer 12 from the casing by a spear, it is necessary to form the spear in such a manner as to enable it to accommodate the two broken hails 14.

The spear 15 of my invention, as shown in Figure 5, includes a tubular member or sleeve 16 and a headpiece or crown 17 having` formed integral with it a reduced portion 18 iitted into the upper end of sleeve 16. This reduced portion is rmly secured to the sleeve by means of a pin 19 which extends transversely of both the sleeve and the reduced portion 18. The lower end of the sleeve 16 is cut at a slant, as indicated at 20, in order to provide an eccentrically disposed point 217 the purposeof which will be more fully explained hereinafter.

The crown 17 has formed integral with its upper end a reduced portion 22 having squared surfaces 23 adapted to accommodate the jaws of a wrench used in turning the spear 15. Formed integral with the reduced portion 22 is a threaded portion 24 adapted to be threaded in a suitable casing or the like such as is commonly used in the raising of broken parts from a well casing.

Depending from the reduced portion 18 and extending downwardly in the sleeve 16 is a pointed spear member 25 formed with a pair of oppositely disposed flat surfaces 26. Each of these flat surfaces 26 is provided with a'vertical groove 27 adapted to accommodate the upper bent end of a bail 14 when the sleeve 16 is fitted over the bailer tube 13. The lower end of the member 25 is provided with a pair of diametrically opposed wedgeshaped slots 28 in each of which is vdispcised a wedge or slip 30. Each slip has a toothed or serrated edge 29 adapted to bite into the inner surface of the bailer tube 13. VEach slip includes a dovetail gr0ove81 adapted to receive a dovetail tongue 32 formed integral with-the lower end of member 25. In other words, the wedge 30 is slidably mounted upon a dovetail tongue 32. r1`he wedgesor slips 30 are disposed parallel and between the flat surfaces of the member 25. Each wedge is normally adapted to abut a transverse stop member 33 disposed in theV lower part of the slot 28 extending through the dovetail tongue 32 and through a transverse slot 34 in the lower end of member 25. In Figure 1 the wedge or slip 30 is shown as abutting the stop member 83, whereas in Figure 2 the slips are shown as spaced from the stop members. f

The lower end of each groove 27 terminates in an enlarged flared opening 35 which facilitates the alignment of the upper end ofthe bent bail with the groove. Also attention is directed to the fact that the member 25 has a chisel-like lower end 36 (Figure 2). The operation of my novel spear is brieflyas follows: v

' The spear 15 shown in Figure 5 is initially coupled to a casing or other lowering member through the means of the threaded portion 24. The threading of the portion 24 into the lowering casing is facilitated by the flat surfaces 23 which are adapted to be grippedv by the jaws of a suitable wrench. Thereafter the spear is lowered into-the well casing from which a broken bailer is to be removed. The point 21 of the sleeve 16 of the spear works its way intov the space between the bailer tube 13 and the lwell'casing 11.. In fact, this point 21 along with the slanting end 20 of the sleeve 16 facilitates Ythe alignment of the spear with the upper end of the bailer tube. Upon the chisel end 36 coming into engagement with the-bent ends of the bails 14, the bails are spread outwardly away from each other until they snap into grooves 27 of the spear. Continued downward movement of the'spear results in its member 5 entering the bailer tubev 13. rlhe wedges or slipsBO in entering the bailer tube have their toothed edges 29- in contact with the inner surface of the tube. These slips are permitted to adjust themselves to the inner surface of the tube due to the fact that they are slidably mounted upon the tongues 32 which permit of a relative movement between the slips and the spear member 25. Subsequent to the engaging of the tube by the slips 30, the spear 15 is pulled upwardly, thus causingY the toothed edges 29 of the slips to bite into the inner surface of the bailer tube 13 whereby the bailer tube is rigidly connected to the spear and canY be Vwithdrawn from the well casing.

Now it is, of course, to be understood that although I have illustrated and described in detail the preferred form of my invention, the inventionis not tol be thus limited, but only in so far as defined by the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In combination, in a spear of the class described, a tubular member adapted to be lowered into a well, and a spear member connected at its upper end to said tubular member and extending downwardly in said member, said spear member including wedge means to engage the inner surface of a tube to be raised from said well; said tubular member being arranged to embrace the outer surface of the tube being raised, said spear member being provided with vertical grooves to accommodate the broken ends ofV the bail links of the tube.

2. In combination, in a spear adapted to be used to raise a broken bailer from Va well, a vertical member adapted to be` lowered into the well, and gripping-means connected Ato said member -to frictionally engage the inner surface of the bailer tube, said vertical member having a vertical grooveto accommodate the broken end of a bail link connected to said bail tube. Y

3.*In combination, in a spear adapted to be used to raise a broken bailer from a well,

a vertical member adapted to vbe lowered into the well, gripping means connected to said member to frictionally engage the inner surface of the bailer tube, said vertical member having a vertical groove to accommodate the broken end of a bail link connected to said i bail tube, and a guide tube disposed over said vertical member and connected thereto to be Y lowered into the well-with the vertical-meml ber and to embrace the outer surface ofthe bailer tube.

4. In combination, in a spear adapted tobey used toraise a broken bailer from a well, a'

broken end of abail linkY connected to said` bail tube, and a guide tube disposed over said vertical member and connecte-d thereto to be lowered into the well with the vertical member and to embrace the outer surface of the bailer tube, the lower end of said guide tube said member to frictionally engage the inner surface of the bailer tube, said vertical member having a vertical groove to accommodate the broken end of a bail link connected to said bail tube, said gripping means comprising a pair of 1diametrically opposed wedge elements slidably mounted upon the lower end of said f vertical member.

6. In combination, in a spear adapted tol Y elements sliclably keyed'to the lower end of said vertical member, each of said elements being provided with a toothed edge for engaging the inner surface of said bailer tube.

7. In combinat-ionin a fishingtool for removing a member including a tube having reins from a well, a body including a guide sleeve portion adapted to fit over said tube to align the tool therewith, means connected to said body for forcing said reins apart to afford access to the inside of said tube and means for thereafter gripping the inner side of the tube to enable it to be thereafter pulled from the well with said tool.

8. In combination in a fishing tool for removing a broken bailer including a tube having broken bails froma well, a. body including a guide sleeve adapted to fit over thebailer tube to align the tool therewith, a spear connected to said body for forcing the bails apart whereby it may enter said bailer tube, and means connected to said spear for gripping the inner surface of said bailer tube whereby the bailer may thereafter be pulled from the well with the tool.

9. In combination in a fishing tool for removing a member including a tube havingr reins from a well, means for spreading the reins apart to cause them to engage a portion of said tool and means for thereafter wedging the tube of said member to the tool.

10. In combination in a fishing tool for removing a member including a tube having reins from a well, a body member including a sleeve portion, a depending portion connected to said body member for forcing said reins apart `so as to enter said tube' and to allow said sleeve to be telescoped by said tube and means for thereafter wedging said depending portion to said tube to enable said member to be thereafter pulled from the well with the tool.

11. In combination in a fishing tool for removing a broken tool including a tube and reins from a well, a body member having a tubular portion formed to fit over the tube of said tool, a shank connected to and depending from said body for spreading the reins apart, and wedge means connected to said shank for wedging the tube to said shank after said shank has spread said reins and entered said tube.

l2. In combination in a fishing tool for re moving a broken tool including a tube and reins from a well, a body member having a tubular portion formed to fit over the tube of said tool, a shank connected to and depending from said body portion and spreading the reins apart, said shank having recessed portions to receive said reins, and wedge means connected to said shank for wedging the tube to said shank after said shank has spread said reins and entered said tube.

13. In combination in a fishing tool for removing a broken tool including a tube and reins from a well, a body member, a shank connected to and depending from said body member for spreading the reinsapart, said shank having recessed portions to receive said reins, and wedge means disposed at substantially right angles to said recessed portions and connected to said shank for wedging the tube to said shank after said shank has spread said reins and entered said tube.

14. In combination in a fishing tool for removing a broken bailer from a well, a body member, a shank connected to and depending from said body member including a spear portion for spreading the bailer reins apart so that said shank can enter said bailer tube, and means for thereafter securing the shank to the bailer tube whereby the bailer may be withdrawn from the well with the tool.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name at Tulsa, Oklahoma, county of Tulsa.

FRANK J. HINDERLITER. 

